Eternity With You
by cheap-crystal
Summary: Caius and Yeul's eternal suffering. Follow their own story and witness the events they went through that made them what they are today.
1. Prologue Chapter

Hello! This is my first fanfic, actually. I've had this headcanon stories in my head for a while now, so even though my writing skills are something I'm not proud of, I just had to do this. Basically, this will be a prequel series detailing the stories of the aforementioned characters in the summary. Reviews are much appreciated.

Below is the FNC Mythology which I wrote in my own way. Please note that I plan to stay true to the original plot as much as possible.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, golly gee.

**Prologue Chapter: The Beginning of Everything**

The beginning of everything started at the birth of the world along with the rise of the divine entity, Mwynn, who would become its ruler. She crafted Earth with her will and gave life to the young world. In time she would give birth to a God, Bhunivelze, and would rule the world together with him.

_The world was divided into 2 dimensions, the Visible and the Invisible World. Should the natural balance be disrupted in both dimensions the world will be completely destroyed._

Bhunivelze did not understand the value of life and disliked death. He realized that as long his mother exists to maintain balance, so is death itself. He then killed his mother, Mwynn, and her spirit was casted to the Invisible World. He must ultimately end her, for as long as her presence exists his desire will not be granted. _A world where life and death has no meaning. _

With his will alone he created magnificent Arks that developed living weapons and armies within them, placing them in different parts of the world. He had to be ready for he not knows what lies ahead further into the Invisible world. He was ready to wage war with his own mother. Then it struck him; where is the door to the Invisible realm?

Using his godly power he created the very first fal'Cie God, Pulse, and he ordered him to expand the world and search for the Door. He creates another fal'Cie God, Etro, but unknowingly created her after the image of Mwynn. Giving her no power and purpose of her own, he created another fal'Cie God with the last of his strength, Lindzei, and was given the order to protect him from anyone who intends to stop him. Preserving himself through crystal stasis, Bhunivelze gives his last order to Lindzei, which is to wake him up when eternity ends and the Door is found.

After being left alone by his father, Etro fell into despair. She tore her own flesh and blood and from these, mankind sprung; beings born only to die. Etro's spirit, casted to the Invisible Realm, saw Mwynn's spirit trapped by a black substance called Chaos. Before being completely swallowed, she ordered Etro to sustain the balance of the 2 worlds as it was being disrupted by Chaos, an extract from the power used by Lindzei and Pulse to make immortal fal'Cies. But Etro was foolish and did not fully understand this.

The Goddess felt pity for the humans, and gave them a gift. She placed a piece of Chaos for each of them, which they will later refer to as their spirits. With the balance of Chaos in both worlds retained, the world was once again devoid of destruction.

In time, Etro will be hailed by mankind as the Goddess of Death and Lindzei and Pulse as their rulers.

Bhunivelze continues to wait for the end of eternity.

A/N: Next chapter will be the first chapter to Caius and Yeul's story.


	2. Chapter 1

The first chapter to Caius and Yeul's story. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

**Chapter I**

"Caius, quickly! I think I've found it!"

A drop of sweat trickled down his face and quickly wiped it off. It was the middle of summer, the hottest time of the year. This was the last challenge for the month, and he cannot afford to lose this race and not win the price. "I'm almost there!" he shouted. "Where is it?" he said, after finally arriving to his friend's location.

"Look, over there, just under that small branch of the third tree."

"Where… Ah, I see it now!" He quickly wrote down the mark on his left palm, right next to the previous symbols he had acquired. "I think that's all! Let us rush back to the camp and report to Khaleel, Ariel!" Caius beamed as he and his friend speed their way out of the woods. The wild forest served as a training ground for aspiring hunters, so the boys easily knew which way to go. They were about to reach the swamps, which were close to the pathway to the village when suddenly Caius felt a presence.

"Wait, I think we have company." He said as he puts out his weapon, which was made out of various monster materials made by his older friends who gave it to him as a gift before entering the race. Along with his partner, they prepare in a battle stance as they see a group of Bloodfang Basses slowly coming towards them.

Ariel and Caius are both gifted in the art of fighting and hunting. Ariel looks out to Caius, who was ready for any attacks to come their way.

"Waste of time… get out of our way!" Ariel screamed as he pulls out his blade and slashed through the enemies. Caius acted as a support, blocking enemy attacks while Ariel relentlessly took down the enemies.

"Phew, thankfully those were just the young ones. Come on, Caius!"

"Right!" Caius joins his friend.

Khaleel, who was staring at the clouds as if lost in the dream, started gathering himself up to go to the meeting place. _One of the pairs should be here soon. _He then started preparing the prices by the table made of twigs when his mind was lost again in the memory of last night's elders' meeting.

"_The festival is just around the corner. We must tighten our security for it is expected for Paddra to get more visitors this year to see the priestess. The stores and stalls should be full with goods and our buildings must have beautiful decorations!" the elder happily claimed in the round table. _

"_Yes, that is nice, but we know we will all be fully prepared by the tomorrow night. What we must talk about right now is the rumour going around that our God Lindzei, praise be to him, has been in—" _

"_Enough!" the elder interrupts the Chief. "Such matter is not to be discussed so freely! Questioning a God's action, what will you do if he hears this? Such punishment will be placed to us mere humans! Enough of this, let us end this meeting and be done for today. I have to attend to my prayers to our fal'Cie patron." _

"_Chief…" whispered Khaleel. The others in the table except the elders and the priests must be feeling the same way as him. Aggrieved. Everyone then slowly and silently left the room. The chief expected this, of course. _

"_This is nothing. I just can't help but think that those damn old geezers and priests know of something!"_

_Khaleel couldn't help but agree. The sudden dormancy of the God, which is known as his way of gathering energy was intriguing. Gran Pulse was still recovering from a surprising calamity made from the God's hand himself years ago. The people who questioned the God were cruelly turned into l'Cie, many turning into a Cie'th for not being able to complete their Focus. It was a miracle that they survived through the harsh disaster. With nothing else to say to the matter, he puts his hand on his shoulder and quietly leaves the Chief._

"Khaleel!"

Pulling him back to reality by the faint voices he heard from the west of the woods, he smiles towards its way and sees two familiar faces. The two boys, who had finally arrived to their destination, were panting heavily. One of them quickly shows one of his palms right in front of their master's face. Khaleel grabs the hand and carefully checks the symbols, as he hears the rest of the pairs finally arriving.

"Excellent," he utters as he lets go of his hand faces the whole group. "We have a winner, the pair of Caius and Ariel gets the price. Congratulations not only to you, Caius and Ariel, but also to the rest of you who put their whole best in this race. May the Mighty Pulse's strength be with all of you, always. Now then, congratulate each other and celebrate! Caius and Ariel, here are your prices."

Caius and Ariel receive their prices, a large bag of goods which worth is as much as a half a year's food supply. "We are very grateful with these gifts, thank you, Khaleel." Caius happily says. "See you then tomorrow, we'll be off our way."

Feeling victorious, the boys started dividing their shares.

"Hey, we should separate at least some for the festival the day after tomorrow! I heard there will be more special food and goods around compared to 4 years ago." said Ariel, as he started doing what he just said.

"Hm, that is a good idea. We should bring a lot so we can invite and share our priced trades with the others! It will surely be fun," Caius grinned to himself. "Well, I should go home now and get a good rest. We should help out the older hunters tomorrow for the feast!"

"Yeah! See you tomorrow then," Ariel says as he meet arms with Caius, a sign of victorious greeting.

"Yeah, see you!" Caius said as he walked on his way home, lost in the thoughts of the festival to come.

A/N: Next chapter, Caius and Yeul finally meets!


	3. Chapter 2

Here's the second chapter! Caius and Yeul finally meets for the first time. Enjoy! Reviews are much appreciated.

**Chapter II**

The sun has risen to the east, its rays reaching every corner of Gran Pulse. Its heat has finally reached Paddra, the most renowned city in the continent. Today, the city booms with loud chattering of busy people, hastily preparing for the festival that is scheduled to start in the noon. Women can be seen carrying different kinds of food, clothing, souvenirs, and readying them in the stalls. The children run around like loose puppies, much excited for the games to be conducted later in the festival. The shows and plays are certainly a must-see as well; different actors continue to nervously practice their own roles, checking their own equipment if complete. Hunters arrive to bring their prey to the city's best cooks to make different recipes, which is to be prepared for the city's council and restaurants during the day. Oriental music can also be heard from every corner that livens up the mood of the city folks. The inns are certainly the busiest of them all, as a lot of visitors are already arriving into the city from different villages outside the Paddra territory.

Paddra is a city surrounded by villages inhabited by hunters and their families. Inside the city lives the secured tribe of the Farseers, whose role is probably the most important in Gran Pulse. They are people who were rumoured to be the very first humans on the world, and have embraced the Chaos inside them the closest, giving them mysterious powers comparable to that of a l'Cie. The leader of the Farseers, the priestess, also acts as the ruler of the city. Later in the festival she is to have a parade, and will be out on public to visit different places in the city.

In the northwest part of the city's outskirts, a certain village is busily preparing to carry goods inside the city. Caius had just returned with his friend after helping the older hunters in their duties.

"Whew! We're finally done here. Let's tidy ourselves up and we'll meet at the city's entrance, okay?" Ariel hastily said as he quickly puts away his weapons back in the armoury.

"Alright, I'll see you later then." Caius nods to his friend, runs back to his hut and puts away his own things. After finally tidying himself up, he checks to see his reflection on his mirror.

Caius is a 15-year-old boy with a taut, muscular, tall build. His layered black, straight hair lies just above his shoulder. He sections it to the right; barely covering his right eye while the left side is tucked behind his left ear. He is adorned with beaded earrings and necklaces, wearing the common tribal clothing. His armbands are made of black fur, and his tight maroon sleeveless shirt emphasizes his well-toned chest. His body is also adorned with a thin, indigo coloured scarf that wraps around his left shoulder down to almost cover his tight black shorts, being hold in place by his belt. Staring straight to his own reflection with his brown eyes he suddenly notices the shin guards he was still wearing. "Ah, I don't really need this…" he says as he keeps them away in his personal safe, leaving his footwear being only a pair of leather sandals. "Alright, I think I'm all set."

It's almost noon and the city has gotten even livelier and busier. The first event is the parade of the priestess and her fellow Farseers. Some of the people have already lined up along the side of the path where the parade will pass by. Flower ladies have already positioned themselves inside the 3rd floors of the buildings, preparing the petals they're supposed to throw in the air while the parade is ongoing. Running through the crowd going in and out the city, Caius finally meets with Ariel along with their other fellow young hunters.

The group find themselves going through the flow of the city folk. Looking around the stalls amused by the abstract goods they sell, Caius' eyes caught the back of his uncle, talking to Khaleel. Leaving his mates, Caius walks towards the men's location. "Uncle Marud!" Caius called.

"Ah if it isn't the season's races' champion!" Marud compliments his nephew, giving him a courteous hug.

"It's good to see you back, Uncle Marud. How was the hunting in Zerum?" Caius asked excitedly, seemingly forgetting his master's presence beside them.

"It was… quite a trial. The west region's monsters were quite formidable in their own way. There were some types I haven't encountered before, so I'd say I did have a hard time. But, now I have returned, I feel more relaxed than ever. Boy did I miss our city's ambiance!" Marud laughed.

"Well, while you were gone Caius and the rest of the group were having their own trials. They have grown a lot after you left. I bet your nephew here will finally be able to stand against your strength!" said Khaleel, as he pats Caius' shoulders.

"Please, I still have bad memories from the time he attacked me with his lariat while training. Who does that to a 10-year-old?"Caius said as the both men laughed at the statement. Caius, whose parents died when he was only 6, was raised solely by his uncle. He grew looking up to his uncle, and was trained and taught by him. He loved his uncle a lot, and is very appreciative of the care and love he has received from him. Marud is now one of the chief hunters, a role Caius has dreamed of while he was younger.

"Ah, the parade's starting!" shouted by a woman behind them.

The music being played live in the city has suddenly been intensified, and the people have started crowding up along the side path. Caius and the men rush through to take a good position that will give them a good view of the parade. "The last time we saw the priestess was when she was seven, five years ago. She must've grown to be a beautiful girl right now." Caius heard from an old man. He had always wondered about the mystery surrounding the city's priestess. He learned about the priestess' great influence and role in the whole of Gran Pulse in school, as it is taught to the children when they are still young. _The priestess possesses the Eyes of the Goddess Etro, the power to see through the timeline. She sees the future and make prophecies_. Her existence alone is what makes Paddra's reputation towers all over the other cities and villages in Gran Pulse. But still, he thought, how does she live and enjoy life? Being made as a city's ruler and burdened by a great task must be pressuring and… lonely. "Young…" Caius unconsciously whispered.

"Yes, that is true." Khaleel's voice pulled back Caius from his thoughts, his attention now at his master. "The priestess is too young to carry such a task… and too young to be touched by the hands of death." he said quietly. Yes, Caius knew about the priestess' fate. Everyone did. Her power to see the future eats her life force, and the priestess would always die at the age of fifteen. For every generation there is a new priestess that is born, looking exactly the same as the previous one. The people were told: _the priestess' soul for each generation is one. Her appearance is what the original, the first priestess looked like. It was believed that the first humans saw her as a baby, bearing a small, circular, jewel-shaped crystal on the center of her chest. She was hailed as a gift from the Goddess Etro. The crystal on her chest is the very essence of her soul, and each priestess for each generation is seen to have it. _Caius suddenly felt pity for the priestess and starts to wonder if there was such a way out there to at least make things better. _Make things better? I'm being foolish. I should just simply accept it as a natural thing that can't be stopped. I wonder, does she even… does she know the fate that will befall her? _He is pulled back to reality again, this time by a sudden loud cheering by the crowd.

"Priestess Yeul!" the children cheered as they carried baskets of flowers, ready to give them to the Farseers and the priestess.

The parade has begun and carriages moved by chocobos have come out, going to the path where the people are waiting along. The first carriage are ridden by the highest priests of the city, the second carrying the city's council, and the third and last one, which was also particularly the biggest one among the 3 carriages, were ridden by the Farseers and the priestess.

Paddra Nsu-Yeul. The young priestess is seen standing on the carriage, her face covered with a thin veil only revealing her green, piercing eyes. Her hair was tied up as a bun and she wore a golden crown, signifying her position as the city's priestess, and the crystal on her chest shines, reflecting the sunlight. White and lavender petals can be seen in the air, going with the flow of the breeze, illuminating the priestess' almost-divine presence. She reaches down to get the offerings of the people, and smiles at them to thank them. Looking around seeing various different faces of smiling and cheering people, she catches the gaze of a particular boy with a calm face. For a moment she saw him smile, and she immediately looked the other way, greeting other people. Her carriage is now stopping; meaning the head of the council's speech is about to start.

"People of Paddra, today we celebrate a feast offered to our fal'Cie patron, Krono. May we all enjoy this festival today and tomorrow and make the most of it! Visitors of the city, I sincerely welcome you here and I hope our city's hospitability do not disappoint you. Let the festival begin!" A loud cheering of the people followed the council head's words, and the festival officially begun.

Going around to different stalls and watching musicians play, Caius and his friends were thoroughly enjoying the festival. People's bustles can be heard in every corner of the city; loud laughter of men and chattering of women sounded almost like music to Caius' ears and it gave him a warm feeling. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yeul walking around, looking at different accessories in the jewellery area. A well-built man with a large pole stick on his back follows her around wherever she goes. _That must be her guardian, _Caius thought. The priestess must always have a guardian by her side. He or she is made a l'Cie, to be powerful enough to protect the priestess at any potential danger.

"Fardi, the current guardian of the priestess, huh." Ariel interrupts his thoughts, looking at him and back to Yeul again. "A guardian must kill the previous guardian to be able to replace him, we were told. Must be a real tough job." Ariel said as he bites his apple.

"I guess." Caius murmured. "Come on, the sun is setting, let's visit the other stalls before the main play starts."

It's evening, and the city is lighted by torches and electrical lights, which were almost located everywhere. The main events of the night were plays and dances by different entertainers. Yeul, who was a bit tired from the day's events, asked permission to his guardian to walk to the grassland nearby them. "Please?" Yeul pleaded.

"Okay, if you wish. There are a lot of guards in that area after all, I will be free of worry. I'll come at your side if we need to go back to the tribe. Are you sure you don't want to see the play?"

"Yes, I am sure, thank you." Yeul smiled and walked her way towards the grassland. Though she admits she have enjoyed the festivities, she needed the pleasant silence. Not wearing the crown and veil, she let her shoulder-length blue hair be swayed be the night's cool breeze. Looking up to the starry sky, she felt dreamy. She tried to close her eyes, but she didn't. She was afraid she'd see visions. As she was growing up, the number of visions she saw became more frequent and intense. Driving the thoughts away, she deeply inhaled the sweet scent of the flowers that came from inside the city when she heard a rustle nearby. Looking at her right, she saw someone standing who looked deep in thought, staring far ahead. Finally noticing her presence, she realized it was the same boy from the parade. He certainly had a boy's face, but he looked well toned and very tall for his age.

"Priestess Yeul?" Caius said finally. He was a bit surprised to be honest, this was the first time she met the priestess up-close. She didn't answer back, so he continued, "What are you doing here outside? Didn't you want to watch the play?"

"Ah…" her voice's tone was so light and a bit quiet, that Caius had to close in. "What are you doing here yourself?"

Caius chuckled. "I… needed a bit of air. I guess I was a bit tired from the day's activities. I really can't imagine how my friends can still be that energetic at this time. How about you?" he asks her again. For a moment, he thought how mature she acts despite her age.

"I needed some air as well." Yeul replied, looking away. There was a moment of silence between them, when they heard a man's voice calling Yeul's name.

"Priestess Yeul, we must go back to the tribe's home now… who are you?" Fardi faces towards Caius and notices his brand of a young hunter, which was signified by his uniquely shaped, brown armband.

Standing before the great guardian, Caius steadied himself. Fardi was a head taller than him with a muscular body, his l'Cie mark barely seen on his left shoulder, barely covered by his pauldron. "I'm Caius, a young hunter under Khaleel's supervision. It's a big honor to meet you."

"Well, Caius, I suppose you should head back inside as well, you are missing a lot of good parts in the play. It's nice meeting you too, kid." Fardi smiled at him. "Priestess, let us go."

"Yes." Yeul nods and follows Fardi back inside. She looks back to Caius, though reluctantly, she waves goodbye and sees him smile and wave back.


End file.
